Larvik reach their third final with ease

Larvik’s second half goal flurry secured them a place in the final at the MVM EHF FINAL4. Dinamo missed the few chances they had to catch up with the lead, trailing by three goals for almost the entire first half, despite Daria Dmitrieva scoring seven goals.

Linn-Kristin Riegelhuth Koren was the main striking force for Larvik who supplyed the goods from the back court, netting nine goals from the right wing.

MVM EHF FINAL4, semi-final 1

Larvik (NOR) vs Dinamo-Sinara (RUS) 31:22 (16:13)

“I’m so proud of the team today. It’s a close game up to the 45th minute. The difference is that we are able to put up a stronger defence in the second half. It’s fun to contribute to the team win today. The whole team is strong to day,” said Riegelhuth Koren, who was awarded the best right wing of the season on the eve of the MVM EHF FINAL4.

Sandra Toft heroics in goal did not go unnoticed, with a high saving percentage of 46 per cent, allowing her team a calm ending to game, with the reserve team taking to court.

Dinamo-Sinara had the first chance to score, but Sandra Toft was like a wall in goal with three saves in the opening three minutes.

After the initial goal drought, it was 4:4 after 10 minutes of play, as the low scoring game progressed we saw Linn-Kristin Riegelhuth Koren almost solely supplying all the goals for the Norwegian side.

Due to the offensive peril posed by the Sinara back court, Nora Mork was used almost exclusively in the offensive phase, being rotated with the experienced Karoline Dyhre Breivang.

However, it took 13 minutes for Larvik’s top scorer to find the net through the thick Russian 6-0 defence after hitting the post twice.

Larvik then increased the gap to three goals (14:11) mid way through the first half, but Sedoykina had her say in goal for Dinamo-Sinara with three key saves.

The Russian side have the buoyant goalkeeper to thank for not letting the game slip from their hands with two minutes to go until the half-time whistle, she pulled off three saves in quick succession to keep the result within reach at 15:13. However, Larvik did manage to increase the gap to three again by half-time (16:13).

The rampant opening few minutes of the second half, saw Larvik put the decisive claim on the match with a 5:1 run to set the score at 21:14 in the first six minutes of the second period.

With Nora Mork able to find the net only once, and Gro Hammerseng-Edin scoring no goals in the opening minutes of the second half, it was Anja Hammerseng-Edin (four goals) who led the show from the back-court as the score read 26:18 for Larvik mid-way through the second period.

“I don’t know what happened, I hit the crossbar three times, but I think its very good that the others can play good when I am having a slow start," Nora Mork said.

"Many people are on the scoring lists today, which is important. As long as we are winning, we are happy.”

Centre back Daria Dmitrieva was among the few bright spots in Dinamo-Sinara's team with seven goals, but her confidence bubble was soon burst having scored only two goals in the second half.

"We tried many options but lot of things didn’t work for our team. We started well and fought hard in the opening minutes but then we simply lost the pace and everything felt down. Larvik used this as an advantage and this was really evident in the second half when they increased the small advantage they had in the first half. We made the mistakes and it is our fault that we are not going to play in the big final tomorrow," Dinamo goalkeeper Anna Sedoykina said.

Linn-Kristin Riegelhuth Koren was eager to add to her Women’s EHF Champions League tally, with impeccable performance scoring nine goals from the right wing to aid the demise of Dinamo.

The Norwegians showed tactical versatility opening up the lacklustre Dinamo-Sinara defence, not allowing the gap to come any closer than seven goals.

Larvik entered the last few minutes of the match already thinking of the final, as the reserve team had a chance to shine with Papp Laszlo Sportarena, making it a no contest bringing the match to a close at 31:22.